About the theme “Beautiful Change”

So far, I have been making Digital Ukiyo-e artworks based on Japanese Intangible Cultural Assets and the Japanese environment.

This time, I have decided to start a new series of ”Bijin-ga” (Artwork of beautiful women) that expresses the "Japanese feminine beauty".

I have thought many times about starting the project, but to photograph women in ”Kimono” (traditional Japanese clothing), the process requires a model, a location, a "kimono", and "kimono" dressing, and it was a hurdle to prepare everything before starting the making, so I finally started the project this time.

“Bijin-ga” is a painting depicting feminine beauty, and it is a genre in Japanese ukiyo-e and Nihonga. In Japan, it is not just appearance that is important, but also inner beauty, and it is characterized by reflecting the aesthetic sense, trends, and culture of the time.

"Bijin-ga" has been a genre that developed from ukiyo-e of the Edo era and was passed down to Japanese painting after the Meiji era. Particularly, “Ukiyo-e Bijin-ga" have reflected the trends and customs of the time, and played a role in conveying culture through the appearance of women.

Additionally, Uemura Shōen (1875-1949) and Kaburagi Kiyokata (1878-1972), who were active mainly during the Meiji period, painted urban portraits of beautiful women, representing the customs of the Meiji era.